How do aldehyde and ketone structures differ?

1 Answer
MeneerNask
Mar 3, 2016

They both have a oxygen atom double-bonded to a carbon.

Explanation:

The difference is that in a ketone (suffix -one) the #O=# is bonded to a #C# with two other #C#'s attached. In the aldehyde (suffix -al) the #C# is at the end of the chain, so there is also a #H# attached to it.

This combination of #O# and #H# on the same #C# makes it possible for the aldehyde group to oxidize into a #-COOH# (acid) group, while the ketone group cannot.
enter image source here propanal
enter image source here propanone
(pictures from wikipedia)

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